Souterrain in Castlegregory

This souterrain was discovered in 1980 when a mechanical digger, excavating the foundation trenches of a house, removed a lintel from the SW corner of the structure. It was inspected shortly afterwards by Hurley (OPW) but is now inaccessible. It was located very close to the seashore, on level ground immediately inland from the sand-dunes. It appeared to consist of a single chamber, orientated NE-SW, which measured .8 to .95m in width, 1m in height and at least 3m in length; the NE end was completely blocked by ancient collapse and it was not possible to determine how far beyond this point the chamber originally extended. The walls were of neatly-built, drystone masonry composed of small sea-rolled stones of fairly uniform proportions. The chamber was roofed by a series of 6 large flat sandstone lintels; the original entrance may have lain beyond the collapsed portion. The end wall, to SW, was curved as is typical of many souterrains on the Dingle Peninsula. There was a small break at ground level in the N wall which may have been a deliberately-constructed alcove or cavity. The souterrain was covered by c. 1.5 m of light sandy topsoil containing scatters of sea shells. Some local people reported finding pieces of bone and shell within the structure when first opened, but these probably came from collapsed topsoil. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 752. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 7 August 2013